Second Day Of Protests In Southern Iran For Lack Of Water

Iran - Borazjan - A large crowd protesting water shortage in this city.

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Second Day Of Protests In Southern Iran For Lack Of Water

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People in the southern Iranian city of Borazjan held protests Sunday evening for a second day in row over lack of drinking water.

The official government news agency IRNA reported that 350 protesters gathered in the city center, but this number seems too low compared with thousands of protesters who had come out the previous day.

IRNA also did not report on what the protesters were shouting during the noisy gathering, but videos obtained from social media show people chanting slogans such as, “Death to the dictator” and “Don’t be afraid - we are all united”.

The previous day, the Friday Prayer leader and other city officials who tried to speak to the gathering were chased out by angry protesters.

According to local reports, the taps in Borazjan have been dry for several days and residents blame corruption and mismanagement by local authorities for the water crisis.

In recent weeks, there have been many water protests in Iran’s southern provinces and many citizens were arrested or indicted of “incitement”.

A provincial official in Borazjan admitted that since the beginning of the spring, the water supply to the area has decreased by 30,000 cubic meters daily. There are reports that the reason for the decrease is misuse of the water by influential people to irrigate their agricultural projects.